The GFFA 2017 was held on the subject: "Agriculture and Water – Key to Feeding the World” in Berlin from 19 – 21 January 2017.

The Global Forum for Food and Agriculture (GFFA) is an international conference that focuses on central questions concerning the future of the global agri-food industry. It gives representatives from the worlds of politics, business, science and civil society an opportunity to share ideas and enhance understanding on a selected topic of current agricultural policy.

The agriculture ministers of 83 nations, who have assembled for the 9th Berlin Agriculture Ministers' Conference , agreed that:

They will continue to shoulder our responsibility for better stewardship of water as a scarce resource and contribute to safeguarding water quality through sustainable water management and production methods in agriculture;

• agriculture needs adequate and reliable access to suitable water as a production resource in order to feed the growing world population without endangering the natural resource base and compromising the availability of safe drinking water;

• They must strengthen efforts in the research and development of technologies, including

ICT applications, to improve the efficiency of water use in agriculture;

• They must improve access to education, training, extension services and know-how, and

enhance capacity building and the use of technology, including enhanced trade in efficient water-use technologies and services, in order to meet the challenges mentioned above and sensitise farmers and agricultural extension officers regarding the sustainable management of water;

• it is important to support implementation and financing mechanisms proven to help achieve these objectives, particularly with respect to the poorest countries, such as the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP) and those provided by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD);

• agriculture plays a relevant role and bears responsibility in the sustainable stewardship of water at all levels.

They therefore call upon the international community, in particular relevant United Nations organisations such as FAO, as well as OECD and World Bank Group, to:

o enhance the sharing of information and dissemination of experience on sustainable water management and technologies in agriculture;

o further develop and strengthen the international water architecture in order to enhance its political impact;

o ensure that agriculture is integrated as a key actor within the international water architecture;

o promote the extensive participation of stakeholders and the application of crosssectoral, local and regional policy approaches, including sustainable land management, in structuring global water policy;

• initiatives and measures implemented in or as a result of this communiqué will not impose unjustifiable barriers to trade and will respect WTO commitments.